Don’t be afraid to shift gears and explore new options.Seasoned investors will tell you that one of the best things about this field is there is no set path.

We've definitely seen a shift in the market over the winter, and with it all of us have been adapting and tweaking marketing and acquisition strategies.   

Tenants who have pets know that it's hard to find a good rental that accepts pets so it's also possible to have a longer term tenant if you accept pets.I would say that you should plan on having to replace the carpets, but you will probably want to shift over to all hard surface flooring anyway for a long term rental.

I find that sometimes the most simplest of things can create significant tension like tenants that work different shifts disturbing one another while trying to rest.

But as mentioned above - the timing could be shifted around.

I have been working on streamlining the process such as setting up a contractor network but I lose valuable hours waiting on contractors to create a scope of work or their contacts in the area to run additional comps. 

if I clear the pipeline for a bit of leverage in 2020 and the market shifts by then and banks retract.

If you find your passion is taking you down a dead-end, you need to be willing to shift your direction.

2007 is new construction and the ground should have not shifted  much during that time.

The main lesson learned was that while hiring a General Contractor definitely sped up the process and streamlined the work (as opposed to me finding my own subs for each specialty / project, etc. and dealing with everyone individually), it definitely cost more and the budget ballooned more than I had planned (and I DID plan for some of that!)